Pakistani Taliban attack two mosques in Lahore, target Muslim sect | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis Pakistani Taliban attack two mosques in Lahore, target Muslim sect Shares0 Amir Mir | Fri, 28 May 2010-02:53pm , ISLAMABAD , DNA At least 80 people were killed and over 100 injured, 25 of them seriously, when two groups of attackers from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacked two mosques of the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore. At least 75 people were killed and 108 injured, 25 of them seriously, when two groups of fidayeen attackers belonging to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked two mosques of the minority Muslim Ahmadiyya community in the Model Town and Garhi Shahu areas of Lahore. Thousands of worshippers, including women and children, were at Friday prayers when the raids at the mosques began. The Ahmadiyya community, also called the Qadiani community, was declared non-Muslim in Pakistan in 1974.

Since then, the sect has experienced years of state-sanctioned discrimination and occasional attacks by extremist Sunnis. Its four million-odd members have seen their religious rights curtailed by law. Usually described as the heart of Punjab, Lahore, the province’s capital, has witnessed a series of fidayeen (suicide) attacks in recent months, almost all of which were carried out by the TTP. It is for the first time in recent years, however, that any Ahmadiyya place of worship has been attacked, that too on such a large scale and in coordinated fashion. The Hakeemullah Mehsud-led TTP has claimed responsibility for both attacks. Numerous explosions were heard at the mosques and gunfire continued for hours, with images of at least two gunmen firing at the police from the roof of one of the mosques. Police said gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and threw grenades at the mosques, which are in residential neighbourhoods, one upscale (Model Town) and the other a heavily congested part of the walled city. At least a dozen heavily armed fidayeen attackers carrying hand grenades and automatic weapons, with some wearing suicide bombers' jackets, stormed the mosques in two groups of seven and five.

They hurled grenades and fired at worshippers. The majority of those killed were at the Garhi Shahu mosque. Two senior superintendents of the Lahore police were seriously injured during gun battles with the attackers. At the Garhi Shahu mosque, the attackers took many worshippers hostage and assumed control of the building. The police took almost three hours to kill the attackers and take control of the mosque. Some police officers said two attackers at the Garhi Shahu mosque blew themselves up to avoid capture. One attacker at the Model Town mosque was arrested. He was seriously injured and taken to the Jinnah hospital. Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore Photos and Images | Getty Images Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License Pakistani Police carry load a body of a man at the scene of an attack and siege at...Pakistani Police carry load a body of a man at the scene of an attack and siege at a mosque in the area of Garhi Shahu on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan. Gunmen attacked two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. The gunmen took hostages from among people gathered for Friday prayers in at least one building.

Over 30 people were killed in the attack, responsibility of which has been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). LessMore Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License Rescue personnel load the body of an injured man into an ambulance at the scene of...Rescue personnel load the body of an injured man into an ambulance at the scene of an attack and siege mosque in the area of Garhi Shahu on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan. Gunmen attacked two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. The gunmen took hostages from among people gathered for Friday prayers in at least one building. Over 30 people were killed in the attack, responsibility of which has been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). LessMore Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License A suspected terrorist looks out from a window in Ahmadiyya Mosque at Alama Iqbal...A suspected terrorist looks out from a window in Ahmadiyya Mosque at Alama Iqbal Road on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan.

He is believed to have stormed the building as hundreds of Muslims attended Friday prayers. Witnesses described how the terrorists, from the Pakistan branch of the Taliban, fired indiscriminately at worshippers as they stormed the mosques. Photographer Irfan Chudhary said the man was firing from what looked like an AK47 at him and passers-by on the street below. LessMore Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License Pakistani Quick Response Force policemen arrive at the scene of a bomb blast and...Pakistani Quick Response Force policemen arrive at the scene of a bomb blast and siege at a mosque in the area of Garhi Shahu on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan. Gunmen attacked two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. The gunmen took hostages from among people gathered for Friday prayers in at least one building. Over 30 people were killed in the attack, responsibility of which has been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

LessMore Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License Pakistani soldiers and policemen look on as rescue personnel evacuate a wounded man...Pakistani soldiers and policemen look on as rescue personnel evacuate a wounded man at the scene of a bomb blast at a mosque in the area of Garhi Shahu on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan. Gunmen attacked two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. The gunmen took hostages from among people gathered for Friday prayers in at least one building. Over 30 people were killed in the attack, responsibility of which has been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). LessMore Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License Rescue personnel load an injured man into an ambulance at the scene of an attack...Rescue personnel load an injured man into an ambulance at the scene of an attack and siege mosque in the area of Garhi Shahu on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan. Gunmen attacked two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. The gunmen took hostages from among people gathered for Friday prayers in at least one building.

Over 30 people were killed in the attack, responsibility of which has been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). LessMore Taliban Terrorists Attack Mosques In Lahore May 28, 2010 License Pakistani Quick Response Force policemen arrive at the scene of a bomb blast and...Pakistani Quick Response Force policemen arrive at the scene of a bomb blast and siege at a mosque in the area of Garhi Shahu on May 28, 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan. Gunmen attacked two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. The gunmen took hostages from among people gathered for Friday prayers in at least one building. Over 30 people were killed in the attack, responsibility of which has been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). LessMore Pakistan: Terrorist Attack on Two Mosques During Prayers – 98 Killed | Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) Pakistan: Terrorist Attack on Two Mosques During Prayers – 98 Killed Posted By: R.E.A.L.

Courage May 28, 2010 In Pakistan’s Lahore, terrorist attacks on two minority Muslim mosques have reportedly left 98 killed. The attacks are suspected to be the actions of the religious extremist Taliban organization , which used a combination of grenades, guns, and suicide bomb vests to attack worshipers during Friday Muslim prayers at two mosques by the minority Ahmadi Muslim sect, which represent 4 million Pakistani Muslims. The attacks took place at the in Garhi Shahu and Model Town mosques, while thousands were attending worship services. Dawn reported that at the Garhi Shahu mosque, terrorists exploded two suicide vests inside the entrance, injuring nearly 100 worshipers. Multiple reports stated that the terrorists also took Muslim worshipers hostage during the attacks on the two mosques. GEO Pakistan reported that the terrorist attacks took place while people where praying. The Ahmadi Muslims have received threats over the past year, but this did not deter them from exercising their universal human right of freedom of religion and freedom of worship . The Punjab province, where Lahore is the capital, is also a haven for many of the Taliban organizations.

The Pakistan Interior Minister indicated today that the Pakistan Taliban and similar organizations were being suspected for the mosque attacks in Lahore on May 28, 2010. Terrorist Attack on Pakistani Mosques Leaves Muslims Injured (Photo: K.M. Chuadary / AP) The Ahmadi minority Muslims face discrimination throughout Pakistan according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which states that they face “the most severe legal restrictions and officially-sanctioned discrimination” (2009 USCIRF Report page 6). In 1974, the Pakistan government declared that the Ahmadi minority Muslims were “non-Muslims,” and in 1984, the Ahmadi Muslims were banned from proselytizing and identifying themselves as Muslims. Gunmen hold hundreds hostage, kill dozens in mosque attacks in Lahore, Pakistan - YouTube Gunmen hold hundreds hostage, kill dozens in mosque attacks in Lahore, Pakistan Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented.

This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on May 28, 2010 Police in the Eastern Pakistani city of Lahore have freed one of two mosques captured by militants on Friday. At least thirty people were killed during the shooting, as terrorists continue to hold hostages in the other building. A group of gunmen attacked two busy mosques, throwing in grenades before opening fire on those praying inside. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to Pakistani media. Category Dozens killed in Pakistan mosque attacks - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Dozens killed in Pakistan mosque attacks South Asia correspondent Sally Sara Updated May 29, 2010 10:32:00 Map: Pakistan Terrorists have stormed two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least 80 people and injuring more than 100. The gunmen, armed with automatic weapons, grenades and suicide vests burst in as members of the minority Ahmadi group were attending Friday prayers. One of the mosques attacked was in Model Town and the other was in a district called Garhi Shahu in Lahore.

Some of the terrorists climbed onto the rooftops of the mosques, firing at police and civilians below and triggering explosions in the coordinated attacks. Hundreds of people were trying to get out of the mosques and some were trapped in the crossfire between militants and the police. Dozens of ambulances took the injured to hospital. Police fought the terrorists for several hours before securing the mosques. At least one attacker has been killed and another has been arrested, but their exact number is unknown and police are concerned some might have escaped. Police believe the attacks were carried out by the Taliban and security forces on alert because of fears of further attacks. Minority Ahmadis have been frequent targets of sectarian violence and have been declared as non-Muslims by the Pakistani government. The Pakistani government has condemned the deadly attacks.

First posted May 28, 2010 20:10:00 Top Stories Pakistan: Prosecute Ahmadi Massacre Suspects | Human Rights Watch May 27, 2012 1:00AM EDT Pakistan: Prosecute Ahmadi Massacre Suspects Act Against Militant Groups, Revoke Discriminatory Laws Temporary headstones of victims at an Ahmadi Muslim graveyard in Chenab Nagar, northwest of Lahore on May 29, 2010. © 2010 Reuters (New York) – Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments should bring to justice those responsible for the May 2010 attacks on Ahmadiyya mosques that killed 94 worshipers, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 28, 2010, Islamist militants attacked two Ahmadiyya mosques in the city of Lahore with guns, grenades, and suicide bombs, killing 94 people and wounding well over 100. The Punjabi Taliban, a local affiliate of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Pakistani Taliban or TTP), claimed responsibility.

Two men were captured during the attack, but the government has failed to make progress on their trial, seeking repeated adjournments from the court as has the defense. “It’s obscene that two years after the worst massacre in Lahore since the partition of India, the government has still not brought the suspects apprehended at the scene to trial,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “By pandering to extremists who foment violence against the Ahmadis, the government emboldens militants who target the beleaguered community, and reinforces fear and insecurity for all religious minorities.” The May 2010 attacks killed 27 people at the Baitul Nur Mosque in Lahore’s Model Town area and 67 people at the Darul Zikr mosque in the suburb of Garhi Shahu. Worshipers overpowered two attackers, Asmatullah, alias Muaaz and Abdullah Muhammad, and turned them over to police. Each was charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act and remains in custody, but there has been no progress in the case and proceedings have been repeatedly adjourned. Since the May 2010 attacks, there has been an intensification of the hate campaign against Ahmadis, Human Rights Watch said.

In June 2011, a pamphlet named some 50 prominent Ahmadis in the city of Faisalabad in Punjab province and declared them “liable to be killed” under Islamic law, along with all members of the community. No action has been taken by the government against those who disseminated the pamphlet. In September 2011, one of those named in the pamphlet, Naseem Butt, was shot dead. At least another five Ahmadis were killed during 2011, apparently because of their religious beliefs. In December, unknown assailants vandalized 29 graves in an Ahmadiyya graveyard in the Punjab town of Lodhran. During 2012, extremist groups in Lahore have used discriminatory provisions of Pakistani law that target Ahmadis and prevent them from “posing as Muslims” to force the demolition of sections of an Ahmadiyya mosque on the grounds that its dome made it look like a mosque. In the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the authorities barred Ahmadis from using their mosque at the insistence of local extremist groups. In both instances, Punjab provincial administration and police officials supported the extremists’ demands instead of protecting the Ahmadis and their mosques.

“The Punjab provincial government should be providing extra security to Ahmadiyya mosques instead of siding with those terrorizing worshipers and attacking their places of worship,” Adams said. “Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadi laws need to be repealed, not enforced.” Human Rights Watch urged the government of Punjab province, controlled by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party, to investigate and prosecute those responsible for intimidation, threats, and violence against the Ahmadiyya community. Militant groups that have publicly been involved in such efforts include the Sunni Tehrik, Tehrik-e-Tahafaz-e-Naomoos-e-Risalat, Khatm-e-Nabuwat, Difa-e-Pakistan Council, and others acting under the Pakistani Taliban’s umbrella. Leaders of these groups have frequently threatened to kill Ahmadis and attack the mosques where killings have taken place as well as other Ahmadi mosques. Ahmadi community leaders told Human Rights Watch that they had repeatedly brought threats against them to the notice of the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, the provincial government, and the police controlled by the provincial authorities, and that they had asked for enhanced security for vulnerable Ahmadiyya mosques.

However, the provincial government failed to act on the evidence or to ensure meaningful security for the mosques. Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan’s government to introduce legislation in parliament without delay to repeal laws that discriminate against Ahmadis and other religious minorities, including sections 295 (blasphemy) and 298 (Ahmadi specific law that prevents them from “posing” as Muslims) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Human Rights Watch also urged concerned governments and inter-governmental bodies to press the Pakistani government to: o Repeal sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code; o Prosecute those responsible for planning and executing attacks and committing other offenses against the Ahmadiyya and other religious minorities; and o Take steps to encourage religious tolerance within Pakistani society. “The government’s continued use of discriminatory criminal laws against Ahmadis and other religious minorities is indefensible,” Adams said.

“As long as such laws remain on the books, the Pakistani state will be seen as a persecutor of minorities and an enabler of abuses.” Background on the Ahmadiyya Community The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, its official name, is a contemporary messianic movement founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839–1908), who was born in the Punjabi village of Qadian, now in India. Discriminatory laws in Pakistan’s constitution derogatorily refer to the Ahmadiyya community as the “Qadiani” community, a term derived from the birthplace of the founder of the movement. In 1889, Ahmad declared that he had received divine revelation authorizing him to accept the baya’ah, or allegiance of the faithful. In 1891, he claimed to be the expected mahdi or messiah of the latter days, the “Awaited One” of the monotheist community of religions, and the messiah foretold by the Prophet Mohammed.

Ahmad described his teachings, incorporating both Sufi and orthodox Islamic and Christian elements, as an attempt to revitalize Islam in the face of the British Raj, proselytizing Protestant Christianity, and resurgent Hinduism. Thus, the Ahmadiyya community believes that Ahmad conceived the community as a revivalist movement within Islam and not as a new religion. Members of the Ahmadiyya community (“Ahmadis”) profess to be Muslims. They contend that Ahmad meant to revive the true spirit and message of Islam that the Prophet Mohammed introduced and preached. Virtually all mainstream Muslim sects believe that Ahmad proclaimed himself a prophet, thereby rejecting a fundamental tenet of Islam: Khatme Nabuwat (literally, the belief in the “finality of prophethood” – that the Prophet Mohammed was the last of the line of prophets leading back through Jesus, Moses, and Abraham). Ahmadis respond that Ahmad was a non-law-bearing prophet subordinate in status to Prophet Mohammed; that he came to illuminate and reform Islam, as predicted by the Prophet Mohammed.

For Ahmad and his followers, the Arabic Khatme Nabuwat does not refer to the finality of prophethood in a literal sense – that is, to prophethood’s chronological cessation – but rather to its culmination and exemplification in the Prophet Mohammed. Ahmadis believe that “finality” in a chronological sense is a worldly concept, whereas “finality” in a metaphoric sense carries much more spiritual significance. The exact size of the Ahmadiyya community worldwide is unclear, but estimates suggest they number nearly 10 million, mostly concentrated in India and Pakistan but also present in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Europe, and North America. Background on Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan The persecution of the Ahmadiyya community is wholly legalized, even encouraged, by the Pakistani government. Pakistan’s penal code explicitly discriminates against religious minorities and targets Ahmadis in particular by prohibiting them from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.” Ahmadis are prohibited from declaring or propagating their faith publicly, building mosques or even referring to them as such, or making the call for Muslim prayer.

Pakistan’s “blasphemy law,” as section 295-C of the Penal Code is known, makes the death penalty effectively mandatory for blasphemy. Under this law, the Ahmadiyya belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is considered blasphemous insofar as it “defiles the name of Prophet Muhammad.” In 2009, at least 50 Ahmadis were charged under various provisions of the blasphemy law across Pakistan. Many of them remain imprisoned. Since the military government of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq unleashed a wave of persecution in the 1980s, violence against the Ahmadiyya community has never really ceased. Ahmadis are killed and injured, and their homes and businesses burned down, in anti-Ahmadi attacks. The authorities arrest, jail, and charge Ahmadis for blasphemy and other offenses because of their religious beliefs. In several instances, the police have been complicit in harassment and in framing false charges against Ahmadis, or have stood by in the face of anti-Ahmadi violence. However, the government seldom brings charges against perpetrators of anti-Ahmadi violence and discrimination.

Research by Human Rights Watch indicates that the police have failed to apprehend anyone implicated in such activity in the last several years. Since 2000, well over 400 Ahmadis have been formally charged in criminal cases, including blasphemy. Several have been convicted and face life in prison or death sentences pending appeal. The offenses for which they faced charges included wearing an Islamic slogan on a shirt, planning to build an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore, and distributing Ahmadi literature in a public square. As a result, thousands of Ahmadis have fled Pakistan to seek asylum in countries including Canada and the United States. The Pakistani government actively encourages legal and procedural discrimination against Ahmadis. For example, all Pakistani Muslim citizens applying for passports are obliged to sign a statement explicitly stating that they consider the founder of the Ahmadi community an “imposter” and consider Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. Under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, virtually any public act of worship or devotion by an Ahmadi can be treated as a criminal offense. Since 1953, when the first post-independence anti-Ahmadiyya riots broke out, the relatively small Ahmadi community in Pakistan has lived under threat.

Between 1953 and 1973, this persecution was sporadic but, in 1974, a new wave of anti-Ahmadi disturbances spread across Pakistan. In response, Pakistan’s parliament introduced amendments to the constitution that defined the term “Muslim” in the Pakistani context and listed groups that were deemed to be non-Muslim under Pakistani law. Put into effect on September 6, 1974, the amendment explicitly deprived Ahmadis of their identity as Muslims. In 1984, Pakistan’s penal code was amended yet again. As a result of these amendments, five ordinances that explicitly targeted religious minorities acquired legal status: a law against blasphemy; a law punishing the defiling of the Quran; a prohibition against insulting the wives, family, or companions of the Prophet of Islam; and two laws specifically restricting the activities of Ahmadis. On April 26, 1984, Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq issued these last two laws as part of Martial Law Ordinance XX, which amended Pakistan’s Penal Code, sections 298-B and 298-C.

Ordinance XX undercut the activities of religious minorities generally, but struck at Ahmadis in particular by prohibiting them from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.” Ahmadis thus could no longer profess their faith, either orally or in writing. Pakistani police destroyed Ahmadi translations of and commentaries on the Quran and banned Ahmadi publications, the use of any Islamic terminology on Ahmadi wedding invitations, offering Ahmadi funeral prayers, and displaying the Kalima (the statement that “there is no god but Allah, Mohammed is Allah’s prophet,” the principal creed of Muslims) on Ahmadi gravestones. In addition, Ordinance XX prohibited Ahmadis from declaring their faith publicly, propagating their faith, building mosques, or making the call for Muslim prayer. In short, virtually any public act of worship or devotion by an Ahmadi could be treated as a criminal offense. With the passage of the Criminal Law Act of 1986, the parliament added section 295-C to the Pakistan Penal Code. The “blasphemy law,” as it came to be known, made the death penalty mandatory for blasphemy. Gen.

Zia-ul-Haq and his military government institutionalized the persecution of Ahmadis as well as other minorities in Pakistan with section 295-C. The Ahmadi belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was considered blasphemous insofar as it “defiled the name of Prophet Muhammad.” Therefore, theoretically, Ahmadis could be sentenced to death for simply professing their faith. Though the numbers vary from year to year, Ahmadis have been charged every year under the blasphemy laws since their introduction. In 2008, at least 15 Ahmadis were charged under various provisions of the blasphemy law. In addition to blasphemy charges, Ahmadis have sporadically come under physical attack. For example, in June 2006, a mob burned down Ahmadi shops and homes in Jhando Sahi village near the town of Daska in Punjab province, forcing more than 100 Ahmadis to flee. The police, though present at the scene, failed to intervene or arrest any of the culprits. However, the authorities charged seven Ahmadis under the Blasphemy Law.

In 2009, at least 37 Ahmadis were charged under the general provisions of the blasphemy law and over 50 were charged under Ahmadi-specific provisions of the law. For example, in January 2009, five Ahmadis, including four children, were charged with blasphemy in Layyah district of Punjab province. The children were released after being jailed for six months. In July 2009, Sunni Tehreek militants staged protests until the local police in Faisalabad district of Punjab province agreed to register blasphemy cases against 32 Ahmadis for writing Quranic verses on the outer walls of their houses. Throughout 2009, Ahmadi graveyards were threatened with desecration, and Ahmadi mosques received threats. In 2010, at least 70 Ahmadis were charged under various provisions of sections 295 and 298 on account of their faith. On May 30, 2010, two days after Islamist militants attacked two Ahmadiyya mosques in Lahore, killing 94 people, a Taliban statement “congratulated” Pakistanis for the attacks.

It called people from the Ahmadiyya and Shia communities “the enemies of Islam and common people” and urged Pakistanis to take the “initiative” and kill every such person “in range.” On the night of May 31, 2010 unidentified gunmen attacked the Intensive Care Unit of Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital, where victims and one of the alleged attackers in the May 28 attack were under treatment, sparking a shootout in which at least another 12 people, mostly police officers and hospital staff, were killed. The assailants escaped. The anti-Ahmadiyya campaign intensified in 2010, exemplified by the government allowing groups to place banners seeking the death of “Qadianis” (a derogatory term for Ahmadis) on the main thoroughfares of Lahore. Punjab provincial authorities have pointedly ignored pleas for enhanced security for Ahmadiyya mosques given their vulnerability to attack and instead sought to appease the groups posing the threat.

For example, on May 30, 2010, Zaeem Qadri, adviser to the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, said in an interview on Dunya TV that the provincial government had not removed the threatening banners from the city’s thoroughfares to prevent “adverse reaction against the government” by the groups responsible. Region / Country Abuses in Bangladesh’s Legal Recognition of Hijras December 19, 2016 Deadly blasts hit Sufi shrine in Lahore - BBC News BBC News Deadly blasts hit Sufi shrine in Lahore 2 July 2010 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Two suicide bombers have carried out a deadly attack on a Sufi shrine in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. At least 42 people died in the blasts at the popular Data Darbar shrine late on Thursday evening, officials say. At least 175 other people were hurt in the attack, believed to be the first to target a shrine in Lahore. Thousands of people were visiting the shrine at the time, officials say. It holds the remains of a Persian Sufi saint, Abul Hassan Ali Hajvery.

Analysis By Aleem MaqboolBBC News, Islamabad No group has yet said that it carried out the attack, but the finger of blame is being pointed at the Taliban. The type of target, a Muslim shrine, is unusual. There are some elements among Islamist extremists, including the Taliban, who believe that worshipping at the shrines of saints is un-Islamic, and this is one theory why this shrine was attacked. There was another sectarian attack just over a month ago in Lahore in which 80 people died, when two mosques used by Ahmadi Muslims were hit by militants. This could be a battle within a battle that the militants are having with the Pakistani state. The shrine is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year from both Sunni and Shia traditions of Islam. For the first time in centuries, the mosque of the shrine was closed temporarily for security reasons on Friday, although officials say it may be opened later in the day. The impact of the two blasts ripped open the courtyard of the shrine. Rescue workers could be seen clambering over the rubble as they carried out the victims. The first attacker struck in the underground area where visitors sleep and prepare themselves for prayer, officials said.

As people fled, a second bomber detonated his explosives in the upstairs area. The bombers are thought to have used devices packed with ball-bearings to maximise the impact of their attack. A volunteer security guard at the shrine described scenes of devastation. "It was a horrible scene," said Mohammed Nasir. "There were dead bodies all around with blood and people were crying." The attack is the biggest on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan since militant attacks began in 2001. No group has said it carried out the attack, but correspondents say the attacks continue a growing trend among militants to target members of other sects as well as minorities. Lahore has been hit by a series of bomb attacks, including a suicide blast at anti-terrorist offices in March, when at least 13 people died.

BIG MILITANT ATTACKS 28 May 2010 - 93 people killed in attacks on two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore 19 Apr 2010 - At least 23 die in suicide bombing at market in Peshawar 1 Jan 2010 - A bomb at a volleyball match kills about 100 28 Oct 2009 - At least 120 die in car bomb attack on packed market in Peshawar 15 Oct 2009 - About 40 die in a series of gun and bomb attacks 9 Oct 2009 - At least 50 die in Peshawar suicide blast In May, more than 90 people were killed in a double attack on the minority Ahmadi sect in the city. Earlier, security chiefs had been congratulating themselves after June was the first month in two years in which there had been no suicide bombings in Pakistan, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad. They said it was proof the militant networks had been disrupted. Last year Pakistan launched a major military offensive against militant strongholds in South Waziristan.

In December the military said they had achieved victory, but subsequent reports have suggested the militants remain active in the region. Pakistan mosque attacks in Lahore kill scores - BBC News BBC News Pakistan mosque attacks in Lahore kill scores 29 May 2010 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Gunmen have launched simultaneous raids on two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore, killing more than 80 people, Pakistani police say. The attackers fired guns and threw grenades at worshippers during Friday prayers. Three militants later blew themselves up with suicide vests. Pakistani forces have secured both buildings, but are still searching for militants who fled the scene. Lahore has been the scene of a string of brazen attacks. It is unclear who carried out the attacks, but suspicion has fallen on the Pakistani Taliban, Ali Dayan Hassan of Human Rights Watch told the BBC. Mr Hassan said the worshippers were "easy targets" for militant Sunni groups who consider the Ahmadis to be infidels. Suicide vests Police said several attackers held people hostage briefly inside the mosque in the heavily built-up Garhi Shahu area.

AT THE SCENE By Orla GuerinBBC News, Lahore The attackers shot anyone who moved, according to survivors like Syed Rashid Rahim, a lawyer we interviewed at the hospital. He survived three hours trapped in the mosque, and three bullet wounds. The hardest thing to bear, he said, was the brutal killing of a boy aged 13 or 14, which happened in front of his eyes. His father was behind him, sheltering behind a column. He asked him for water and the son was offering him water. While he was drinking, these two people came in and they shot him point blank. "I cannot forget that," he said, fighting back tears. "I thought they would spare him, but they did not." Some took up positions on top of the minarets, and fired assault rifles at police engaged in gunfights with militants below. Three of the attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the mosque, officials said. Police were searching for at least two militants who managed to flee the scene. Police took control of the other mosque in the nearby Model Town area after a two-hour gunfight.

Gunmen opened fire indiscriminately at the mosque, before security forces managed to kill one militant and capture two others, eyewitnesses told the BBC. They were said to be armed with AK-47 rifles, shotguns and grenades. Persecuted minority Sectarian attacks have been carried out by various militant groups in Punjab province, and across Pakistan in the past. While the Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim and follow all Islamic rituals, they were declared non-Muslim in Pakistan in 1973, and in 1984 they were legally barred from proselytising or identifying themselves as Muslims. WHO ARE THE AHMADIS?

A minority Islamic sect founded in 1889, Ahmadis believe their own founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who died in 1908, was a prophet This is anathema to most Muslims who believe the last prophet was Muhammad, who died in 632 Most Ahmadi followers live in the Indian subcontinent Ahmadis have been the subject of sectarian attacks and persecution in Pakistan and elsewhere In 1974 the Pakistani government declared the sect non-Muslim Eyewitness: Mosque attack Members of the community have often been mobbed, or gunned down in targeted attacks, says the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad. But this is the first time their places of worship have suffered daring and well co-ordinated attacks that bear the mark of Taliban militants, our correspondent adds. The London-based Ahmadi association said the attacks were the culmination of years of "unpoliced persecution" against the Ahmadis. "Today's attack is the most cruel and barbaric," the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK said in a statement. The Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, expressed "heartfelt sorrow" over the killings.

"No condemnation, however strong, will be enough for these incidents," he said. US state department spokesman Philip Crowley said Washington also condemned the "brutal violence against innocent people". 80 killed in terror attacks in Lahore - International - Jerusalem Post 80 killed in terror attacks in Lahore ByASSOCIATED PRESS Pakistan gunmen seize 2 mosques belonging to minority Ahmadi sect. 311_Pakistan terror. (photo credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS) LAHORE, Pakistan — Terrorists attacked two mosques packed with hundreds of worshippers from a minority sect in eastern Pakistan on Friday. Over 80 people were killed and dozens wounded in the worst ever attack against the Ahmadi sect. The assaults in Lahore were carried out by at least seven men, including three suicide bombers, officials said. Two attackers were captured. At one point, a gunman fired bullets from atop a minaret. Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page. RELATED: Pakistan blocks YouTube over 'sacrilege' Ahmadis are reviled as heretics by mainstream Muslims for their belief that their sect's founder was a savior foretold by the Quran, Islam's holy book.

Muslim leaders have accused Ahmadis of defying the basic tenet of Islam that says Mohammed was the final prophet, but Ahmadis argue their leader was the savior rather than a prophet. Under pressure from hard-liners, the Pakistani government in the 1970s declared the Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority. They are prohibited from calling themselves Muslims or engaging in Muslim practices such as reciting Islamic prayers. A US-based Ahmadi spokesman, Waseem Sayed, said the sect abhors violence and was deeply concerned about the attacks. He estimated Pakistan, a country of 180 million, had around 5 million Ahmadis. Worldwide he estimated there were tens of millions of Ahmadis, but said that they have faced the most violence in Pakistan, and that this was the worst attack in the history of the sect. Relevant to your professional network? Please share on Linkedin Tags:

Question: In May 2010, 98 people were killed when terrorists attacked two mosques in which Pakistani city?
Answer: LAHORE